A Ghostly Fog

A ghostly form drifts across Arlington National Cemetery Wednesday morning.

A ghostly apparition slowly drifted across Arlington National Cemetery early Wednesday morning as the day's first light appeared from the east. The ghostly form paused, swirled upward, then moved forward again. I quickly grabbed the camera and took a series of photographs, framing the eerie form against the countless tombstones and rolling hills, the bare trees adding an element of spookiness.

What was this form dancing through the cemetery?

Keep reading for the answer and more photos...

I knew my sunrise photo shoot was in trouble when the top of the Washington Monument disappeared at dawn (a first for me) as fog and low clouds rolled in above the surface and slowly descended to the ground.

I can confidently tell you it was fog, just plain ol' fog. How am I so sure? Well, I watched those darn fog banks swirl across the Potomac River toward me during the pre-dawn hour and spoil my sunrise photo shoot, completely blocking out the sun. Yep, I woke up at 5 a.m. -- to see fog. At least I was able to get a few foggy photos.

Georgetown University in fog Wednesday morning.

Wednesday began quite cool, damp and dreary. At times, mist fell with the dense fog. It took a couple hours for the sun to burn through the fog. But by afternoon a glorious day was upon us -- the temperature soared, the sun was bright, and I can safely say that ghostly apparitions were no longer dancing through Arlington National Cemetery. Just warm breezes.

Rosslyn in fog, photographed from the Key Bridge Wednesday morning.

Crew practice on the Potomac River, photographed from the Key Bridge Wednesday morning.

"Fognadoes" are virtually nonexistent due to stability issues. Generally surface fog is a stratiform cloud implying a stable though saturated layer, while tornadoes never form in stable air, but require turbulence to exist. Generally the cloud associated with a tornado is highly turbulent and "boiling" motions not typical of a stratus cloud may be seen in and around the funnel.